Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Grant: Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions

SUMMARY: The Deputy Director for Policy and Research, delegated the
duties of the Director, of the Institute of Education Sciences
(Institute) announces the Institute’s FY 2016 grant competition for
Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions and Low-
Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions. The
Deputy Director for Policy and Research takes this action under the
Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002. The Institute’s purpose in
awarding these grants is to support rigorous evaluations of education
interventions that State educational agencies (SEAs) or local
educational agencies (LEAs) believe will produce meaningful
improvements in student outcomes within a short period (for example,
within a single semester or academic year), that can be conducted at
low cost, and that will provide policymakers with valid and useful
results more rapidly than is typically achieved in education research.

Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions and Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions grant programs is to support rigorous evaluations of education interventions implemented by SEAs and LEAs that have important implications for improving student education outcomes. The evaluations are low cost because they rely on administrative records or other available data and are completed within a two-year period. The evaluations are rigorous because they use randomized controlled trials or regression discontinuity designs that, if well implemented, would meet What Works Clearinghouse evidence standards without reservations for determining the effectiveness of interventions.
The evaluations are to be carried out by partnerships between research institutions and SEAs or LEAs. Implementation of the intervention to be evaluated is to be supported by the SEA and/or LEA and not by the grant. The education intervention to be evaluated should be implemented and the key outcomes collected within the first year of the project, and the analysis and dissemination should be completed by the end of the second year of the project. In order to meet this schedule, projects should focus on interventions that are expected to produce meaningful results quickly (for example, within one semester or school year) and that rely on outcome measures that are readily available to researchers.
Competitions in This Notice: The Institute’s National Center for Education Research (NCER) will hold one competition for the Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions Grant Program (84.305L).
The Institute’s National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) will hold one competition for the Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions Grant Program (84.324L).

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.305L.

Applications for grants under Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions, CFDA number 84.305L, and Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions, CFDA number 84.324L, must be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at www.Grants.gov. Through this site, you will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit your application. You may not email an electronic copy of a grant application to us.
You may access the electronic grant applications for the Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions competition and the Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions competition at www.Grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable application packages for these competitions by the CFDA number, 84.305L or 84.324L.